South Texas

Starbase!  At Boca Chica Beach.
Those RVs beyond Kelly VI (my RV)
are permitted free camping along the road and on the beach.
As the sand here was quite fine, I decided
against driving, let alone camping, on the beach
and stayed at various places in and near Brownsville.

The main reason for heading to Brownsville, aside from having never been there, was to observe the eighth launch of the SpaceX prototype Starship.

As the launch was projected to take place in late February or early March, I knew there was a good chance I'd get to see the launch.

I also knew that rocket launches are often delayed, sometimes by weeks or longer, so missing the launch altogether was certainly a possibility.

For panoramic video, Click Here.

This bike ride has good variety
as it runs southbound from
the Palo Alto Battlefield National
Historical Park to the
Mitte Cultural District,
downtown Brownsville, TX.

Map of the Palo Alto Battlefield at the National Park,
north of Brownsville.

My bike at the northern end of the
historic Palo Alto Battlefield Trail.

This park, 
Ernesto Gamez Cascade Park,
was very nice with
many families enjoying
picnics, walks and
even a fun water park. 

This is the front side of that
artificial "mountain" in the
previous photo.  It feeds the water park.
For a video, Click Here.

This walk took me around the
park and into the pennisula.

Statue of "Mr. Charro."  In the Mitte Cultural District,
downtown Brownsville.

The "Mr. Amigo" plaques
honoring local citizens
are mounted in the plaza
in a semicircle around
the grassy mound.

This spot is only 6 miles from the launch pads
at Starbase and is on a small hilltop so the pads 
are easily visible, but only from the roof of Kelly VI.
Thankfully, my collapsible ladder
provided me a rooftop perch.

View of Starbase from my rooftop.  Sadly, it was a
foggy, hazy day.  The launch date had already been pushed
into early March and even with the poor visibility,
the broadcasters for the launch were mostly positive about
Launch 8 taking place today. 
For a video from my roof, Click Here.
The countdown worked down to T-40 seconds, then a Hold.
Sadly, the hold continued to be extended until a
delay was announced.  As I had to
begin my trek back to Houston the next day,
or miss my flight to visit my son, I would miss the launch.
Launch 8 would not launch until two days later.

My stop for the night was also very hazy & foggy.
The birds were very much a huge presence.

This video's big impact is the audio.  These birds 

were not to be ignored!  😮

Halfway back to Houston, I revisited Magnolia Beach.

This street sign confirms that
the right way is "That Way!"

Family with Rockets & Baseball - March 12-25, 2019

Allen IV  clocked THOUSANDS of miles

A terrific night rocket launch and more baseball than most fans need, made for a terrific backdrop to the visits from my two sons.

Allen IV DROVE from Colorado by way of Missouri, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Pennsylvania and South Carolina.  That is NOT a typo.  He actually drove from Colorado to Missouri, his car's transmission failed, he rented a car to avoid missing time with his mother, brother, brother's wife, niece and nephew in PA, drove back to MO to drop off the rental and get his repaired car, drive back to PA, then to SC to visit his cousin and her son, then on to Florida to see me.  By the time Allen IV returned to his home in Colorado, he had driven over 6,300 miles!

One of the LARGEST campsites we've seen!

Allen arrived at my campsite at E.G. Simmons Park in Ruskin, FL late on the 12th.  We spent a couple hours catching up then caught a few hours sleep before enjoying a day driving into St. Petersburg across the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.  We played disc golf in St. Pete's Maximo Park, then spent sunset on the beach before heading back to our campground.

Allen IV on the beach at St. Pete

St. Pete Sunset

McKechnie Field/LECOM Park, Bradenton, FL

We enjoyed our first Spring Training Baseball game on the 14th.  Our first game was at the Pirates' home for Spring Training in Bradenton, FL where they faced the Phillies and trounced them!  Allen and I celebrated in Bradenton Beach at the Bridgetender Inn, now a favorite of ours after visits there in 2017 & 2018.

Murph, Harry's empty seat, Allen IV at the Bridgetender Inn

We had tickets for an Orioles game on the 15th (my buddy Harry is a Nats and Os fan, but couldn't make this trip.  He and I have enjoyed many games together!) so Allen and I decided to skip the game and drive across Florida as there was a rocket launch scheduled!  Allen had never seen a launch, except on TV, and this gave us a chance to take a fun trip on the water, so we made the trip to Irish Rover, tried sailing (too little wind) then motored to a great viewing spot (see chartlet at end of this post) and waited for the launch.  And waited.  And waited.  And waited.  What was scheduled for an evening launch as the sun was setting, turned into a dark, yet exciting, night launch.  It meant we had a very late dinner in Titusville at the new Pier 220 and an even later night drive back across the state, but the dramatic launch was well worth the drive.

Allen IV aboard Irish Rover, VAB in distance

Warbird Airshow viewed from Irish Rover as we waited for the delayed launch

Sunset as we wait aboard Irish Rover for the rocket launch

Video of Rocket Launch from Irish Rover

Fortunately, our next event was an evening hockey game in Tampa so we were free to sleep in on Saturday.  We still left early so we could fit in a game of disc golf at the Limona Disc Golf Course, then continue downtown to Amalie Arena to catch the league leading Lightning battle the 2019 Stanley Cup Champs.  It proved to be a terrific hockey game with lots of terrific action ending with the home team on top.

Caps at Bolts, Amalie Arena, Tampa, FL

Sunday was St. Patrick's Day, perfect for another Pirates' game at home in Bradenton.  The Buccos pleased the hometown crowd with another win over the Red Sox.  Although it didn't make up for the Patriots bumping the Steelers out of the playoffs, it still felt pretty good.

St. Patrick's Day at McKechnie Field

Our next game took us to Dunedin Stadium, Dunedin, FL to the home of the Toronto Blue Jays.  I spent a week in Toronto when I began my full time cruising in 2011 so the Jays felt like "Our" team.  It was an older park which was very comfortable for me and they had a great selection of beers in their Craft Brew Pub.  And the Jays won!  Allen had a call with his employer Monday morning asking him to return early, they needed him sooner than Allen had known, so he departed Florida as soon as he deposited me back at the campground.

Allen IV cheering the Jays vs Tigers

Originally, Allen (older son) and Paul would both see baseball with me, but with Allen's early departure, I got "one-on-one" time with both boys (OK, they're fully grown men now, but Dad still thinks of them as my "boys".)  Paul flew into Orlando and drove his rental car to the campground, arriving late Tuesday, the 19th.

Paul and Dad at Twins vs Pirates

Paul enjoys Pirates' victory at Hammond Stadium

Our first game was Pirates vs Twins at the Twins park in Ft. Myers.  It was a long drive, but a nice stadium with a walkway around the entire field, similar to McKechnie Field in Bradenton.  We enjoyed several walks around the park together as we watched the Bucs come from behind to beat the Twins with a strong eighth inning.

Home Run wins game for Bucs

Paul's first and only game in Bradenton was on Thursday when the Pirates hosted Harry's Orioles.  Given the boardwalk around the field, we sauntered our way to another Pirate victory.  Since both food and beer are excellent at LECOM Park (McKechnie Field has a name sponsor) we enjoyed both as we ambled about.  After the game we drove to Bradenton Beach and played catch on the beach, giving Paul's baseball a good washing in the sand and waves.

Paul, Allen IV's seat, Dad at Bridgetender Inn

Paul's final Pirates' game was hosted by the Rays at the Spring Training home in Port Charlotte.  I'll admit here that the final score of any Spring Training game is absolutely meaningless.  OK, you guessed it, the Pirates lost to the Rays.  Even so, in all these games, we saw lots of terrific baseball as the individual players are tested and performing to earn spots on the regular season team.  Double plays, diving catches, home runs and stolen bases made for terrific baseball every game.

Dad, Paul at Charlotte Sports Park, Port Charlotte

Great seats Pirates at Rays

Karen and I had a play to see in Cocoa Saturday night, so Paul and I drove back to Titusville.  Paul lounged about Karen's home finally catching up on March Madness and some Zs as he left his Stay-At-Home-Dad responsibilities for a few days.

Paul at Playalinda Beach before he went swimming

Sunday after church we drove to Playalinda Beach at the Canaveral National Seashore, just north of the Space Center at Cape Canaveral.  Paul took a brief swim in the ocean, much warmer than when he did the same at Clearwater in December.

Paul saw this gator behind Karen's house just before leaving for MCO

Paul had to catch his return flight from Orlando Monday evening so we had a lazy day showing him how retired folk live:  playing pickleball, living in RVs, driving golf carts, lunching at tiki bars on the river, etc.

I had a terrific time hosting both my sons and I'm looking forward to the next time.

Irish Rover's track and anchorage for the rocket launch. 
See Here for Google Map of launch pads.

Satellite View of Launch Area, courtesy of Google

Rockets, Linda & Lynn - Sailing February 21 & 22, 2019

As a rocket launch was scheduled for 8:45pm EST on February 21, I decided to anchor off Merritt Island in the Indian River to observe the night launch.  The forecast called for northwest wind 8 - 14 knots, but actual conditions were a steady 15 - 18 knots from the southeast!  As a result, I didn't allow enough time to motor into the breeze and chop to my preferred anchorage for the launch and tucked behind a small island and shoal just south of the Max Brewer Bridge in Titusville.  Irish Rover and I were about 2 miles further away than we intended, but the view of the launch was still very clear including the reflection off the water.

Launch Pad 39 B was due east of Irish Rover

Similar view of launch, courtesy of SpaceX

Unfortunately, I had significant user error with my smartphone, yes, it is much smarter  :-(  so I had to borrow a photo from SpaceX which is similar to the view I had from Irish Rover.  In addition, there was a full moon that burst over the horizon just minutes after the launch to provide a fine reward for making the evening motor into the wind and waves most worthwhile.  For the post about the Falcon Heavy Launch, Click Here.

Linda and Lynn, experienced cruising sailors joined me for a nice sail the next day.  You may recall they had recently sailed aboard Irish Rover on February 6.

Daysail with Linda and Lynn

We only had a couple hours available to sail the light shifty puffs, so we pointed Irish Rover upwind to the south to create as much apparent wind as possible, but that left us having to rely on the motor to return downwind to the marina.  Going with the breeze dropped our apparent wind to zero and our VMG to not much better than zero.

Allison & Tom Visit - April 10-18, 2019

Irish Rover's track to/from the launch observation point.

Allison, Karen's oldest child, and her boyfriend, Tom, arrived on time at Orlando's airport Wednesday night.  Tom and Allison are both architects working in Berlin, Germany.  Allison is a US citizen, Tom is Austrian, but they have been working and living in Berlin for the past few years.

Karen and I enjoyed a wonderful week with Allison and Tom, pursuing a number of activities.

Falcon Heavy on the pad by Allison

Thursday was mostly a quiet day as Allison and Tom recovered from their long trip from Berlin via Amsterdam and Detroit.  But a rocket launch was scheduled for Thursday evening, so we all climbed aboard Irish Rover to observe the launch from the Indian River, several miles closer than if we watched from land.  Click Here and scroll down for perspectives of our position relative to launch pad 39B (northernmost pad at Canaveral).

Launch by Allison

It was a terrific launch as SpaceX used their Falcon Heavy boosters to place a communications satellite into orbit.  Some cool things about the Falcon Heavy include that it is the most powerful launch vehicle currently in use and that SpaceX lands all three boosters to be reused.  The most efficient booster operation currently functioning.

The noise and sound waves were powerful when they reached us aboard our small vessel and the landing of two of the three boosters was very dramatic as they were easily visible returning to the earth at Cape Canaveral.

Falcon Heavy launch by Allison

After pickleball at TGO, the four of us enjoyed a typical central Florida tourist day by visiting and touring the exhibits at Disney's Epcot Center.  Since Epcot was hosting their International Flower & Garden Festival, there were more than the usual green and colorful displays.

Boosters returning to Cape Canaveral

Saturday was a lazy day, just resting, but Sunday's main activity was a 13 mile bicycle ride from Cocoa, FL south through Rockledge, FL and back.  We enjoyed a late lunch in downtown Cocoa at a new-to-us bakery and restaurant.

Boosters landing safely by Allison

Tom has been an avid and active rock climber for many years and a few years ago enticed Allison to join him.  Monday Karen and I were instructed by the younger couple on how to: avoid "T-rex-ing", point our toes into the wall, and if falling, avoid putting our hands and arms out to break our fall (unless we wanted to risk a sprained or broken limb).  We gave the highly cushioned floor significant and frequent tests which, thankfully, the floor passed with flying colors.  And with the unflagging help of our fine coaches, Karen and I each made several successful ascents!

Karen, Tom, Allison at Epcot

Karen organized a kayaking adventure for Tuesday where Allison and Tom used the hard, molded kayaks while Karen and I paddled tandem aboard the inflatable kayak.  We started at the last possible moment for a leisurely transit to the take out point, but decided we were up for a more vigorous adventure and added a 2 mile upstream trek at the beginning.

Bike ride through Rockledge, FL

Karen's math skills identified that we were risking a late arrival, which meant we'd miss the bus  .  .  .  literally!  We signed up for a bus and trailer to collect our kayaks and us for the return to our parked car and kayak trailer.  The youth (Allison and Tom) forged ahead at their much faster pace to be certain the bus would wait for the slower old folks (Karen and I).

Allison had no trouble on the green climb
(animation per Google)

As it turned out, we needn't have worried, as even Karen and I were able to paddle with some gusto (and the current kicked in to add some helpful speed).  Kayaking on Rock Springs Run (just north of our kayak adventure in 2017)  has us enjoying crystal clear headwaters, strong (3 knots) current, lots of fish, birds, alligators, and more turtles than could be counted!

Karen nears the top

Karen coached by Allison and Tom

Tom achieves the top of the green climb easily

Murph still negotiating the green trek

Wednesday was a bit lazier as we all played miniature golf at Cocoa Beach and enjoyed a fine meal at "Sage" afterwards.  The youngsters' flight out of Orlando was Thursday, so we made our goodbyes and wished them safe travels.

Put-In at Kings Landing, Take-Out at Wekiwa Island

Kayakers paddle Rock Springs Run by Allison

Tom paddles Rock Springs Run by Allison

Wildlife at Rock Springs Run by Allison

Wildlife at Rock Springs Run by Allison

Wildlife at Rock Springs Run by Allison

Wildlife at Rock Springs Run by Allison